Pearson India | Advanced Specialist, Payroll

Responsibilities

• Description: In this role, You will be working as a senior individual contributor responsible for the validation, checking and reconciliation of payrolls across India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Nepal, ensuring payrolls are accurate, timely and compliant with local legislation, company policies and internal controls.
• This role aligns with industry titles such as Senior Payroll specialist, Payroll operations specialist, Payroll Compliance Specialist or Assistant Manager, Payroll.
• The role will work closely with the Payroll Administrator responsible for day-to-day payroll processing, independently reviewing payroll inputs, outputs, calculations, reconciliations and statutory requirements prior to final approval.
• As a senior member of the team, the role will support the India Payroll Manager with complex payroll matters, compliance, controls, issue resolution and continuous improvement, while providing technical guidance and support to other payroll team members.
• Reporting to the India Payroll Manager and working as part of the wider APACMEA Payroll team, this role provides an important second level of payroll review and control.
• You will work closely with the India Payroll Manager and the wider South Asia and MEA Payroll team.
• You will also partner with Pearson's People/HR teams, Finance, Tax, Technology, HR Business Partners, external payroll providers and other key stakeholders to ensure effective payroll delivery.
• Support the Payroll Manager with the day-to-day operational delivery of India payroll, ensuring payroll is accurate, compliant and delivered within agreed timelines.
• Act as a senior payroll subject matter expert for India, maintaining strong knowledge of payroll legislation, taxation, statutory requirements and fiscal year-end processes.
• Act as a key operational support to the Payroll Manager and provide continuity of payroll operations when the Manager is unavailable.
• Review payroll inputs, outputs, validations and reconciliations to ensure accuracy and completeness prior to payroll finalisation.
• Provide technical guidance and day-to-day support to Payroll Administrators and other team members, helping build capability and payroll knowledge across the team.
• Support the Payroll Manager in coordinating payroll activities, priorities and deadlines across the India payroll team.
• Work closely with external payroll providers to resolve operational issues and ensure agreed services and timelines are achieved.
• Maintain a strong understanding of India payroll legislation and statutory requirements, proactively identifying legislative changes and supporting their implementation.
• Support compliance with company policies, internal controls, payroll governance requirements and local legislation.
• Identify payroll risks and control gaps and work with the Payroll Manager to develop and implement appropriate corrective actions.
• Perform and/or review payroll reconciliations and support the investigation and resolution of payroll variances.
• Partner with Finance to support payroll journals, reconciliations, reporting and payroll-related accounting requirements.
• Support internal and external audits by preparing documentation, responding to payroll-related audit requests and implementing agreed actions.
• Maintain accurate payroll documentation, standard operating procedures, work instructions, process maps and business continuity documentation.
• Identify opportunities to simplify, standardise and improve payroll processes and ways of working.
• Support payroll system enhancements, testing, implementation activities and transformation projects.
• Monitor recurring payroll issues and trends and recommend improvements to strengthen payroll accuracy, controls and employee experience.
• Support knowledge sharing and cross-training across the payroll team to reduce key-person dependency and strengthen operational resilience.
• Build strong working relationships with People/HR, Finance, Tax, Technology and other stakeholders to ensure payroll issues are resolved effectively.
• Support the Payroll Manager with payroll reporting, operational metrics and information required for regional payroll governance.

Required skills / experience

• Strong hands-on experience in India payroll operations, preferably within a large, complex or multinational organisation.
• Strong knowledge of India payroll legislation, statutory requirements, taxation, social security and fiscal year-end processes.
• Demonstrated experience managing complex payroll activities and resolving payroll issues independently.
• Experience performing and/or reviewing payroll reconciliations, validations and payroll controls.
• Strong understanding of payroll governance, risk and internal controls.
• Experience working with third-party payroll providers and managing operational payroll issues.
• Ability to interpret legislative or regulatory changes and translate them into payroll processes and requirements.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with excellent attention to detail.
• Ability to prioritise multiple payroll deadlines and work effectively in a fast-paced environment.
• Demonstrated ability to coach, guide and support other payroll team members without requiring formal people-management responsibility.
• Strong stakeholder-management and relationship-building skills.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to work effectively across different functions, cultures and levels of the organisation.
• Experience supporting payroll projects, system implementations, testing or process-improvement initiatives would be advantageous.
• Experience with Oracle and/or major payroll platforms would be advantageous.
• Must be fluent in English, both written and spoken.

Pearson plc

Samuel Pearson joined a small Huddersfield firm in 1844, and the business grew into S. Pearson & Son, a building and civil engineering contractor that moved its headquarters to London in 1884. It became a public company in 1969 and later turned to publishing and, more recently, education. Pearson trades on the London Stock Exchange and has American depositary receipts on the New York Stock Exchange. It now describes itself as an education and assessment company, with businesses in assessment and qualifications, virtual learning, English language learning, higher education, and enterprise learning and skills. Its Indian offices are in Noida, Bengaluru and Chennai.

Its finance openings in India have included specialist roles in payroll in Bengaluru and in financial operations in Noida.

• Industry: Education and assessment: qualifications, assessment, English language learning, higher education and workforce learning
• Headquarters: London, United Kingdom (listed on the London Stock Exchange, with American depositary receipts on the NYSE)
• In India: Pearson India Education Services Private Limited, with offices in Noida, Bengaluru and Chennai